Hi, my name’s John and I’m 43 years old & 68” (172.2cm) tall
First of all I want to congratulate everyone who competed and finished this contest. It’s no easy task. This is my 3rd time entering and first time finishing a TT Transformation Contest.
I learned allot during this contests. I now know for a fact that diet is 80% of fat loss. For the first month of the contest, I maybe missed 1 or 2 workouts due to travel, schedule…life, but I wasn’t eating as cleanly as I should and was eating too much. Therefore in the first four weeks I only lost 4lbs.
I then realized I hadn’t set any goals so I sat down and figured out what I wanted to achieve and then put steps in place to get me there.
My main goals were to get down to 158lbs, get below 15% body fat and finally for the first time in my life have six-pack abs.
I tried to follow 4 rules that I’d seen and read throughout Craig’s and other’s writings:
1. I ate mainly plants and animals and not too much.
2. I planned my meals and shopped in advance.
3. I worked on the 90/10 rule. Working to complete 90% of the workouts and eat clean 90% of the time.
4. I developed a support structure to help me stay focused and also give me a chance to encourage others and share my mistakes and little victories.
Below are some details of the 4 rules I worked at following:
I got serious about my diet and started to watch calorie intake via myfitnesspal.com. I have the habit of over-eating, even if it’s a clean meal so counting calories to help teach myself proper portions was important for me. I would actually log the food I was going to eat before I ate it to see which food and what portions would do to my calorie count and adapt what or how much I ate beforehand. I enjoyed most of the same food my family did except I would limit a little of this or add a little of that to suit what I needed for the day. It actually wasn’t as hard or time consuming as thought it would be.
I began juicing every day to ensure I was getting the fruits and veggies needed in addition to eating veggies with every meal.
I also adopted a gluten free diet except for my cheat days. I followed Isabel De Los Rios guidelines of cutting out wheat and anything white except quinoa. I worked at eliminating all processed foods and the only supplements I took were BCAA’s when fasting and fish oil at night.
I began training for an upcoming Warrior Dash in Sept with my teenage son. This was a big help as I wanted to set a good example for him and it would be hard to encourage him if I was eating poorly and skipping workouts. Doing this with someone else is a major plus.
I became more active on the TT Forum. The forum was pretty quiet during this contest but the few that were on regularly were very supportive, high quality friendships that helped me along. Again, doing this with others is allot easier than going alone. You have someone to share your struggles with and gain the encouragement and support you need to change your lifestyle from
I actually mapped out my last month of workouts & diet. I made a calendar which showed which day was a cheat day, a day of fasting, or a day of intermittent fasting along with which exercise program I was doing for that day. Having a plan was key to finishing this. The last 2 contest I just winged it and ended up failing.
I also began actually doing activities on non-workout days. In the past I’d just sit around, this time I would go for long walks, bike rides and even mix in Workout Finishers. The Finishers were great in that I could get a good heart rate going in just a few minutes and keep the “metabolic fire” burning on off days.
For the first 2 months I switched between Muscle Massacre MRT & Backyard Buff Body depending on if I was away at work with access to a gym or home working out with my son doing bodyweight/homemade TRX workouts. For the 3rd month I did Turbulence Rises while also following the scheduled/recommended fasting protocol for that particular day.
Thank you so much to Craig for his programs and support on the forum, Craig & Isabel for the nutrition advice, Craig and Roman for Turbulence Rises, Mike for the Finishers and all the folks on the forum, my son and my wife for the support and encouragement.
Starting Stats:
- weight: 184 lb
- BMI: 23.8%
- waist: 38"
Ending Stats:
- weight: 162 lb
- BMI: 16.52
- waist: 33 inches
Difference:
- weight: -22 lb
- BMI: -7.35%
- waist: -5 inches
